Trip To TX
The trip to Houston this past Sunday happened “almost” as planned. On the one hand, it reaffirmed my flight planning/route selection process. But on the other hand, it reinforced the need for flexible plans enroute. when I was getting ready to depart, I thought the weather was “perfect”. Shortly after takeoff the visibility (and views) […]
The Next State (OK) State #33
The states are now getting further (and harder) …. But that’s OK … Today was a beautiful day to fly… My intended destination was Dallas. But I was compelled to make a slight detour to land in a new state(Oklahoma). The route is shown below: The weather forecast showed a little bit of IFR along […]
Last Minute Angel Flight
Normally, my Angel Flights are scheduled well in advance. Usually, I have to juggle a whole bunch of things (both work and personal). But late yesterday I got a message from the “Angel Flight Mission Control” about a particularly compelling flight today (Wednesday b4 Thanksgiving) that was in jeopardy of being canceled. The patient, who […]
East Coast Journey (Going Home)
Seven new states, and 5 IMC hours later, it was time to go home. The journey home involved a stop in Frederick, MD (state #32). Here is what the final route flown looked like: Since I needed to stop in MD, it was only natural to stop @ FDK. I was hoping to squeeze in […]
East Coast Journey (Day 3)
Today was the most varied (and most intense) day of flying I have ever had! The day began as a leisurely morning sightseeing flight with Avanni (and her Daddy). As you can see, Ronak got the hang of aerial photography pretty quickly as we flew over Patriots stadium down to Rhode Island and back: After […]
East Coast Journey (Day 2)
Day 2 was a rather simple day of flying… But it did include 3 new states, unusual ATC interactions, and best of all some awesome sites. The day began in Raleigh, with another good weather forecast. I filed IFR RDU > LVL > WWD (Wildwood, NJ) Very simple routing that avoided the Washington DC Special […]
East Coast Journey (Day 1)
Day 1 went off “almost” as planned. I was so excited to begin my journey. I arrived a couple of hours early to the airport so that I could do a thorough pre-flight and still have time to “correct” anything that may have needed attention. Luckily everything checked out OK and after a whole bunch […]
East Coast Journey (Day 0)
So tomorrow is really day 1 of the journey. But tonight, was time for the flight planning. My general sequence is usually as follows: 1 Weather 2 Route Selection 3 Airport/FBO selection Then if time permits 4 Lodging 5 Ground Transport. But if time doesn’t permit getting to 4 or 5, I am usually happy […]
Sunrise Flight to Miami
While I am not a huge fan of night flying, I do love departing in the dark and being airborne for sunrise. The ride is usually smooth, clear and best of all, so “empty” that ATC will usually grant any “crazy” routing I come up with. Today was no exception. After an uneventful pre-flight (in […]
Planning The Next Big X-Country
After getting serious about “My 50 State Quest”, I have come to realize how much planning is involved. The first 25 states just sort of happened as a byproduct of Work, Angel Flights, and General Joyrides. However, the next 25 states will require much more active planning. So here we are, near the end of […]